the family myth

in the family myth

we escape winter

we escape water 

we escape the amnesia of the sea

and somehow there's me

in the family myth

we escape desert 

we escape searchers 

we escape the arbitrary decree 

and somehow there's me

all of this must be true

because somehow there's me

and somehow there's you

in the family myth

we escape cages

we escape rages

we escape the rogues of history 

and somehow there's me

in the family myth

we escape post-war

we escape closed door

we escape the Land of the Free

and somehow there's me

all of this must be true

because somehow there's me

and somehow there's you

in the family myth

we know their order to shoot on sight

we cross the border and move by night

and go on

in the family myth

we cross the water of a rolling sea

and all of us, some of us, one of us

must slip free

and go on

in the family myth

we escape exposure 

we escape erasure

we escape the men who hack the family tree
and somehow there's me

all of this must be true

because somehow there's me

and somehow there's you

Imagined Geography 6: Limes Song

tell Olivia 

the view from this wall

it is beautiful

this river ever flowing

it is beautiful

the distant green-grey hills

all are beautiful

tell Olivia

if you get back to Rome

she is beautiful

tell Olivia

if you get back to Rome

I wish I were there

here is her picture

a lock of her hair

when you get back to Rome

say I wish I were there

Imagined Geography 5: Vienna Song

this is Vienna

beneath this dome

under the car park

this is my home

hopping the turnstiles

dodging the landlord

looking for something

hidden here before

under Vienna

city in ruins

city of ghosts

all up in smoke

you take the fast train

nightime from Linz

something seen once

never seen since

not since Vienna

Imagined Geography 4: Texas Song

Texas is its own religion

Texas is the belle of the ball

Everyone is born in Texas

Texas can bear it all

Everything is big in Texas

Texas is a thousand miles tall

Everyone is born in Texas

Texas can bear it all

Texas is as big as all Texas [[ x times ]]

They cross the big river,

listening to Jesus,

but finding the devil

in a counterfeit star.

Everyone is welcome in Texas

Texas doesn't need a wall

Everyone is born in Texas

Texas can bear it all

Texas is as big as all Texas [[ x times ]]

They cross the big river,

listening to Jesus,

but finding the devil

in a counterfeit star.

Texas is as big as all Texas [[ x times ]]

Imagined Geography 3: Oklahoma Song

Have you seen the sky 

open over the plain?

One minute, soft moonlight,

then thunder and rain.

Have you seen the sky 

come to swallow you whole?

I have seen a town vanish

soul by soul by soul.

Have you seen what God thinks
of an Oklahoma town?

I have heard God roar

and then swat one down.

Have you seen the sky 

open over the plain?

One minute of dying,

then clear sky again.

Imagined Geography 2: New England Song

a stolen Volvo

of all things

rolled on the dunes 

kids all hanging 

upside down

still listening to tunes

out to covered bridges

out to the beaches 

out to summer cottages

out past our reaches

summer homes 

full of nothing

bric-à-brac, 

knick-knacks.

ruck sacks, 

kayaks,

quick snacks

nut sacks,

racken-fracks,

six packs,

a fishing shack

out back

bring back

a stickleback

bring back

the click track

the click track

the click track

drunken college girlfriends run together in my memory
drunken college girlfriends run together into the sea

Imagined Geography 1: Montana Song

bounded by perfect

four solid walls

north south east west

one good window

bounded by perfect

one endless road

nowhere each way

but away, away

here in our place between

zero and one

love me from here 

to the end of that sun

here in our place between

before we die

love me from here

to the end of that sky

if you ever leave me

but you will never leave me

but if you ever leave me

I will be in every reflection

I will be the ghost in your night 

I will be in every direction

I will be, I will be, I will be

but you will never leave me

bounded by perfect

surveyor lines

fences and rails

the horizon

bounded by perfect

circular sun

hard solid earth
plain hard sky

buildings coming down

here, a slice of steel and glass 

a sky-high stack of offices

a mirror sixteen stories tall

to check your teeth for greenery

buildings coming down [[ pause... ]]

to the seashore

buildings coming down 

to the sea

look, a building knifed in two

a bathtub hanging in the air

this is how the joke plays out

when we are old, when we are grey

buildings tumbling down [[ pause... ]]

to the wrecker

buildings tumbling down

to the sea

the sigh and the shrug 

of a building facade 

melting suddenly 

into the sand

the crack and the roar 

of the air between us

turning suddenly

into a cloud

[[ it might be about aging, or urban renewal, or terrorism ]]

animal person

I'm an animal person, she said

I'm an animal-person, she said

I'm an animal

Let me take your coat, I said

No one takes my coat, she said

Sorry, my mistake

Don't get your back up

We're animal people

We're all animals here

[[ maybe something to do with feminism and vestigial chivalry, maybe something to do with animal rights and fur coats, maybe just an awkward encounter ]]

yellow contraption

we could put flowers 

in your hair

a dozen sunflowers

burning air

a yellow contraption 

is what the folk 

would make of you 

but fuck the folk

we could put violets

in your hair

small flowerlets

behind your ear

but who would know

and who would see

and we don't care

who who will be

a yellow contraption 

is what we'll make 

(and hope 

dear vertebrae

don't break)

bright lovely quake
and fuck the folk